|
|
Post by kmfarm on May 20, 2018 15:51:57 GMT -5
We had the first calf born on our farm this weekend! YAY!! The momma is a very mild mannered heifer. She will eat from our hands and was always very gentle. Everything during labor seemed to progress like it should. She went into labor at the far end of the pasture. Luckily it was Saturday morning and we could stay home and watch her for the entire labor through binoculars from about 50 yards away (to give her some space). We only came up close to check on her progress a few times. We watched when the calf was finally be born. The new mom pushed out the calf, stood up.... and walked to the barn. Like it didn't even happen. Not exactly what we expected.
We waited a couple minutes to see if she was going to go back & check on her new offspring but she did not so we carried the calf back to the barn & locked her and the calf up in a pen. She was super aggressive with the calf! As soon as the calf would stand up she would head but the calf and try to smash it into the walls or the gate. We gave the situation a few minutes but it was obvious she was going to kill the calf so we quickly separated them. We let mom check out her baby through the gate for a little while and tried again with the same results.
We ended up making a makeshift chute where we could squeeze her and let the calf get two good meals without getting murdered but now we are bottle feeding the new calf. The calf seems to be doing good.
So now we dont know what to do with momma and have a couple questions for the experts.
1- I'm guessing this is probably NOT normal behavior?
2- If we breed her again what are the chances that she would do this again on her next calf? Bottle feeding a calf is not a deal breaker but her dropping the calf in the middle of the field and then trying to kill it might be. Especially since we both work and can not be there 24/7 to watch for the moment the calf is born.
3- Her behavior seemed a lot like what she did with our dog when she first got here. Chasing it and head-butting it. Any chance she did not recognize the calf as a relative? Any chance that, if she was confined with the calf when it was born that she might have made the 'oh that is my kid' connection instead of us bringing a strange animal up to the barn and locking her up with it? Maybe she thought it was a dog??
Any advice would be really appreciated.
|
|
|
|
Post by cathylee on May 20, 2018 18:50:17 GMT -5
I've heard a similar story except in the other case the heifer butted the calf immediately. Most of the time the cow will accept the calf after it has nursed for a couple of days. I think you should try to continue letting the calf feed twice a day from the cow and see if she begins to accept it.
Hard to know what she was thinking. Maybe she did associate the calf with a dog she did not like. Is this your only cow? I usually think good relationships with the other herd members helps the heifer develop the mothering nature.
If she accepts this calf I'd probably give her a chance with a second one. If she doesn't accept this one I would probably send her to processing.
|
|
|
|
Post by littlecowfl on May 21, 2018 4:20:05 GMT -5
This behavior is exceedingly rare in cattle. On the big ranches where I worked in college, they would tie up the heifer for feedings, (tie one leg up to allow for nursing). Sometimes they came around. The heifer would not be given a second chance.
Was her udder sore? Did she let you milk her? I know really sore, full, udders can make a cow kick at their calf, but this sounds more serious. The calf relieved the udder pressure by nursing and the hormone oxytocin is released during milk letdown, which should have calmed the heifer. If that didn't work when the heifer was in the squeeze chute, I don't think I would give the heifer another chance at calving.
|
|
|
|
Post by otf on May 21, 2018 7:09:46 GMT -5
Heifers can occasionally exhibit this behavior with a new calf. Some just don't understand what is happening; it's all new to them. You did the right thing by restraining her and assisting the calf to nurse. Keep it up. It may take a day or two. Don't give up just yet. I wouldn't make any decisions about her future at this point in time.
Google: Heifer rejecting calf -- you will find many helpful articles on this topic.
|
|
|
|
Post by cddexter on May 21, 2018 11:07:41 GMT -5
Hi kmfarm.
Sometimes a first-calf heifer has no idea what's going on, she's uncomfortable, in pain, this 'thing' appears, and she figures she's got rid of whatever was bothering her, and good riddance. In my experience this is more common where there's only one or two cows, and not a larger herd. In a larger setting, she will have observed other cows calving, and watched the calf nurse, and sort of figure it out, even if she has a propensity to walk away she will be easier to train. I personally don't know of this happening twice with the same cow, so I'd give her one more chance next year. If history repeats itself, soldier on with calf #2, then eat the cow.
If 'twere me, I'd persist with letting the calf suck by tying her up and monitoring the situation. Her milk will smell different from the milk of other cows, and certainly from milk replacer, so if you want to get her to accept the calf without you fighting her twice a day, you'll definitely need to have the calf on her, or at least drinking her milk.
If you can milk her, tied up or otherwise, you might try milking one side and having the calf nurse on the other...you don't say if you spent time with her before calving, handling her, and fondling the udder, to get her used to it. It may be the teat plugs are harder than usual, and you need to strip them out, but I think this is a separate issue as it sounds like she didn't even let the calf get that far. Ditto engorged udder, same solution, same proviso.
Even if she continues to be a witch about it, maybe have the calf suck from behind instead of from the side. This way the calf doesn't get kicked, and you can feed the cow at the front end while the calf nurses from the back...
I guess this advice is pretty much the same from all of us. If you have an experienced neighbor, maybe they'd help? It sounds like this heifer is all on her own, as you don't mention other cattle with her. If that's the case, remember cattle are herd animals, and having just one by itself is like locking your kid the closet by itself with no company. Even a goat or sheep or llama is company.
Let us know how you get on. Good luck. Carol.
|
|
|
|
Post by kmfarm on May 23, 2018 12:18:16 GMT -5
Thank you very much for all of your suggestions & ideas!! The mom didn't mind nursing the calf at all when she was squeezed- unless the calf came from behind and then she would kick it. It was quite a time consuming process getting her locked down for nursing since we don't have a chute. Our series of ropes and gates and boards was a 2 person job for sure. We had to abandon the nursing attempts after day 2 when we had to go back to work. We are going to work on a better chute to be better prepared next time. There are 3 other heifers and a cow in the pasture with her but this was the first calf born on our farm. We have tried to introduce the calf again to the mom a couple times but she just charges at it every time. You don't want to get between them. The mom will eat out of our hand and is always really gentile otherwise. So now we are wondering at what point we can turn the calf out with the others? I guess we just have to wait until she gets big enough to not get murdered? There is another calf due in a couple weeks and we are also wondering how mom #2 will respond to the 1st calf and how mom #1 will respond to calf #2. So much drama on the farm all of the sudden!  |
|
|
|
Post by kmfarm on May 23, 2018 12:41:57 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by kansasdexters on May 24, 2018 10:41:20 GMT -5
This is something that happens rarely, and it can take multiple attempts for the maternal behavior to improve and for the cow to accept the calf. Being persistent and having a routine is essential for success. Restrain the cow, so the calf can safely suckle her, at least twice a day. Three times a day is even better (morning, noon, and night). Keep them in adjacent pens, where the calf is safe from harm, and the cow can see and smell the calf. The cow will calm down, as she recovers from the delivery, gets used to the new routine, and her hormone levels settle down. Once she stands calmly for the calf to nurse, you can try putting them together (put a halter and lead rope on the cow, so you have control of her head) and observe her behavior towards the calf. She may surprise you at this point, by being happy to have the calf come to her and allowing it to suckle unrestrained. Then, you are home free! This usually doesn't take more than a week, so I encourage you to keep trying for several more days.
|
|
|
|
Post by kmfarm on Jun 29, 2018 20:36:41 GMT -5
Just to update this story: The bad mom never took any interest in the calf. We bottle fed it twice a day for about 3 weeks. In the meantime two of our other cows had calves and everything went as it was supposed to. Both were great moms. One day the orphan calf showed no interest in the bottle. That was VERY out of character for her. She would normally almost knock you down trying to get at the bottle. We thought she might be sick so we kept a close eye on her and found her nursing on one of the other cows. The cow was a 6 time mom that we called 'missles' because... well... she was udderly gigantic . Both calves (hers and the orphan) appear to be getting more than enough milk and both are very happy and energetic so it seems this story ends on a happy note. I would like to thank you all again for all of the great advice. |
|
|
|
Post by otf on Jun 30, 2018 7:13:40 GMT -5
Glad this has all worked out successfully! And thanks for posting an update on this; we seldom get those!
Gale
|
|
|
|
Post by littlecowfl on Jul 1, 2018 7:02:29 GMT -5
Great ending! Thanks for the update. We had a similar experience when a cow could not provide. Our boss cow took the calf as her own.
|
|
|
|
Post by kmfarm on Mar 30, 2020 18:02:09 GMT -5
I just thought that I would update the story a little more. 'Bad mom' just delivered her second calf- a nice little heifer. We watched her closely due to the previous problems. She was very protective of the new calf this time but, after a couple of hours watching her kick at the calf when she would try to nurse- we decided to try to intervene again. She very obviously didn't want us touching her baby but was never aggressive. Just 'right there' making sure we were being nice. We tried to get them both up to the barn but she wasn't having it and, while we were trying to figure out our next plan- the calf was persistent enough, and I think mom was distracted enough by us being there, that she finally let it nurse and has been doing great ever since. Bad mom is being a very good mom!
|
|
